35. 'Green Lantern' (2011)

35. 'Green Lantern' (2011)

To an extent, genre works because of cliches. Some give comfort, others lead shoes. One trouble with the superhero genre, particularly its troubled middle years ("X-Men: The Last Stand" through "Spider-Man 3"), has been the introducing of new characters, often with all the imagination of a metronome. "Green Lantern" begins by explaining the origin of the universe. OK, weird -- but different! Then there's the rest: CGI actors who look like screensavers battling for dominance, an unnecessary romance, a lot of telling-not-showing, the scene where the hero learns he has powers, the scene where the hero rejects his powers, the scene where the hero accepts his responsibility. (Any superhero movie in which every character on the poster is giving a one-handed salute is a superhero movie flawed at the conception.)

To an extent, genre works because of cliches. Some give comfort, others lead shoes. One trouble with the superhero genre, particularly its troubled middle years ("X-Men: The Last Stand" through "Spider-Man 3"), has been the introducing of new characters, often with all the imagination of a metronome. "Green Lantern" begins by explaining the origin of the universe. OK, weird -- but different! Then there's the rest: CGI actors who look like screensavers battling for dominance, an unnecessary romance, a lot of telling-not-showing, the scene where the hero learns he has powers, the scene where the hero rejects his powers, the scene where the hero accepts his responsibility. (Any superhero movie in which every character on the poster is giving a one-handed salute is a superhero movie flawed at the conception.)

To an extent, genre works because of cliches. Some give comfort, others lead shoes. One trouble with the superhero genre, particularly its troubled middle years ("X-Men: The Last Stand" through "Spider-Man 3"), has been the introducing of new characters, often with all the imagination of a metronome. "Green Lantern" begins by explaining the origin of the universe. OK, weird -- but different! Then there's the rest: CGI actors who look like screensavers battling for dominance, an unnecessary romance, a lot of telling-not-showing, the scene where the hero learns he has powers, the scene where the hero rejects his powers, the scene where the hero accepts his responsibility. (Any superhero movie in which every character on the poster is giving a one-handed salute is a superhero movie flawed at the conception.)